Press Release
Time Catalyst Cultural Center by Zehua Zhang Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Zehua Zhang for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Time Catalyst Cultural Center by Zehua Zhang has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About Time Catalyst Cultural Center
Time Catalyst is a proposal that adapts a former winery in Valencia for public cultural use. The design retains the existing structure and brick wall while introducing additional openings to improve light, access, and connections between interior and exterior. By removing portions of the roof, the designer creates an internal courtyard that brings daylight and landscape into the building. The interior accommodates studios, exhibitions, and community activities, balancing preservation with selective interventions to allow the building to remain in use.
About Zehua Zhang
I am a designer and thinker who bridges creativity and purpose. My work shapes experiences, connecting people, space, and ideas with clarity and impact. I have led complex projects, received professional recognition, and contributed to competitions and juries, reflecting both skill and leadership. Beyond practice, I aim to create inclusive, meaningful spaces that enrich society. What makes me interesting is my balance of logic and intuition, precision and imagination, using design and art to explore, inspire, and transform the world around us.
Award Record
Zehua Zhang is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180613
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180613
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180613
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/368120
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Time Catalyst Cultural Center
- Function
- Cultural Center
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Black, Saddle Brown, Dark Slate Gray, Light Gray and Sienna
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Zehua Zhang
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180613
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Time Catalyst transforms a historic Valencia winery into a vibrant cultural center where memory and vitality coexist. Honoring its structural framework, the exterior preserves the original brick texture, while rhythmic openings at the base blur inside and outside. Interior volumes with curved facades echo the exterior, fostering fluidity and continuity, and the site embodies both the heritage and the spirit of the Fallas festival in Valencia, bridging past and future.
- Inspiration
- Time Catalyst is inspired by the dialogue between history and contemporary life. The old winery’s brick walls carry memory, and I aimed to preserve this while introducing new vitality. Valencia’s Fallas festival, with its communal energy and fluidity, inspired the building’s openness and curved interior volumes, blurring inside and outside. The design celebrates cultural heritage while activating the space for modern social and creative life.
- Research
- Type of Research: Design-based architectural research on adaptive reuse. Research Objectives: To convert a historic winery into a cultural center while preserving heritage and enhancing social use. Methodology: Analysis of history, structure, and environment, tested through simulations and models. Data Collection and Research Tools Used: Archives, drawings, site photos, 3D modeling, daylight and airflow simulations, and material studies. Results: Informed spatial layouts, openings, and materials. Insights and Impacts: Demonstrated how historic buildings can support contemporary cultural life. Effect in Real Life: Promotes heritage preservation, community interaction, and sustainable design.
- Challenge
- The original materials and structure of the historic building were preserved, while selective demolition was carried out. Structural analysis was performed, and the feasibility and adaptability of introducing new building structures and materials were comprehensively evaluated.
- Realization and Technology
- This design balances cultural heritage with contemporary interventions. The original brick facade was restored to preserve its texture, while curved glass panels echo its language. Inside, UHPC ultra thin concrete slabs and steel I beams combine lightness with structural stability. Computer-aided simulations and 3D modeling optimized spatial relationships, integrating old and new elements to create a dynamic, vibrant experience.
- Operation and Interaction
- This is a renovation and adaptive reuse project for an old winery, preserving its historical character while introducing new vitality, transforming it into a cultural center that provides a space for local residents and artists to connect and express their creativity. The main spaces include creative studios, artist workshops, a performance hall, classrooms, exhibition areas, and a public courtyard.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in June 2025 and was completed in October 2025
- Specifications
- Two-story building with overall dimensions of 75 meters in width, 75 meters in depth, and 23 meters in height.
- Keywords
- Historic preservation, adaptive reuse, brick facade, structural framework, spatial fluidity, interior-exterior continuity, cultural center, curved volumes, communal space
